Un peu a gauche, svp

Josep-Maria BalanyÃ , solo extended piano

Total Time: 72:33 CD Laika Records, Bremen, GermanynÂº 3510231.2 Recorded at Radio Bremen, 19th to 22nd March 2007

1

They burn your inner peace

08:18

2

Ã€ gauche I

06:55

3

Ritual of silence

05:54

4

Daytime stroll

02:57

5

Ã€ gauche II

02:43

6

They annihilate you

06:06

7

Ritual secondo

05:19

8

They skin you alive

07:19

9

Night-time ramble

05:23

10

They destroy what you love

06:54

11

They rip out your entrails

04:59

12

Survival

05:47

13

After

03:22

TOTAL TIME

72:33

“Un peu Ã gauche, svp” (A little to the left, please) is a work for solo piano, composed of eleven parts. Eight of them are played in an orthodox manner, i.e. exclusively on the keys. The other three are played using extended techniques: manipulating the strings and using different parts of the entire body of the piano.

The work is based on experiences of urban protest demonstrations; it was created in Barcelona in 2003, during the height of the mass protests against the Iraq War. Later on, the work was reworked until the actual form was reached.

This music does not pretend to explain the feelings of an observer of wars, nor to document nor try to evoke the sensations experienced by those who live in areas of conflict. It simply wants to give an abstract version of the feelings of a human being in the context of his eternal story of love and hate. With this music I would like to make the listener feel like he or she is being caressed and skinned alive at the same time.

I see the grand piano as a great musical instrument and at the same time as a toy. When I make music, I feel like a child who plays absolutely concentrated, without any shyness or complexes, and enjoys each and every moment of the game. The piano is an exclusive toy full of secret and surprising sounds. When you play with it, it plays with you.